Off campus learning: What do students want?

Abstract

As universities attempt to increase enrolments of ‘time-poor’ students, effective teaching strategies that minimise attendance requirements are required. The increasing use of technology to record face-to-face lectures provides a useful alternative for students unable to attend. However, this study indicates that recorded lectures, alone, are inadequate for distant students, who make extensive use of a wide range of materials. Study guides remain the most highly valued and highly used items in the suite of materials available to off-campus students. The importance of contact between off-campus students, their lecturers and their peers is highlighted.